Officials: Soldier kills deputy, then self in Georgia

ATLANTA - A National Guardsman who appeared to be drunk and firing gunshots at passing cars shot and killed a sheriff's deputy, then committed suicide on a Georgia road, authorities said Sunday.

Evidence shows Spc. Christopher Michael Hodges, 26, fired 35 rounds from his M4 semiautomatic rifle, Richmond County Sheriff's Capt. Scott Gay said. Hodges and Deputy James D. Paugh, 47, were found dead on the side of Bobby Jones Expressway after 1 a.m. Sunday.

Hodges served in the Tennessee National Guard but was on temporary duty at Fort Gordon in eastern Georgia for training, said Buz Yarnell, a spokesman for the military post. Yarnell said he was not aware of any problems with Hodges before the shooting and he would not say if Hodges had previously been deployed in combat.

Sheriff Ronnie Strength told The Augusta Chronicle that Paugh was off duty and on his way home when he saw a suspicious car on the side of the road. He was shot several times when he stopped to check on the car and apparently fired two shots from his service weapon before he was killed.

"He was just checking that car. He pulled over his motorcycle and didn't even get to put the kickstand down before the suspect began firing on him," the sheriff said.

An autopsy is scheduled for Monday in Atlanta. Yarnell declined to release more information on Hodges until the investigation is complete.

Upcoming Events